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Unlike others so far, I've been favorably impressed by scouts who've come up in a fully co-Ed association -- including those with co-Ed patrols, and one that made no bones about shared sleeping quarters. So a closely linked troop doesn't worry me. I do think, however, that in such a closely linked small troop, the girls and boys might realize that their patrols would run more smoothly if they weren't determined by sex. (E.g., a couple of girls might have personalities that suit one of the the boys' patrol and vice-versa.) That could lead to a little resentment. Do any of the troops have boys who are already acquainted with the girls? Especially siblings? A selling point of this excersize was to reduce the disjointed schedules of post-modern nomadic families.

And Pakistan. Why does everyone forget one of the larger and faster growing scout associations?

You might want to run that kind of domain naming by your council since GS/USA is making a legal stink about brand infringement. In general, you might want to find out how other linked troops in your area are setting up their web presence. It might help parents and scouts navigate if troops were consistent.

@Eagledad, Would you like me to invite you on our next hike into back-country? This fall we set up camp with 11-13 year olds. There were three other troops and a crew in the vicinity. No pre-fab latrines anywhere. @cocomax and @Jahaza I take issue with citing Eagle requirements as an indication of more/less outdoor activity. All of the outdoor-related Eagle requirements could be earned before a scout earns 1st class and a scout could avoid camping for decades. Moreover, a minority of scouts earn Eagle. In the past that minority was slimmer, and yet there is the impression that troops back then did more camping. My thesis is that the methods of scouting are independent; therefore, you can't bribe scouts with advancement to manipulate them to spend nights outdoors. They will do it, or they won't. Now, although they are independent, they are synergistic. Advancement helps scouts learn to do outdoors and patrols safely. (And outdoors gives opportunity to build patrols and practice skills for advancement.) What I think our girls are really after is that synergy.

Only partially true. It matters to Scouts BSA if just two men leading a troop for girls,

Any troop will become great with a man OR woman with utmost integrity -- and a willingness to enjoy the outdoors -- to take on the role of SM for these girls, and one other woman to support him/her in a direct contact role. If this transition happened in the 70s, we might have gotten by without that depth, the lawyers would still have had at it. @desertrat77, Latrine? The shovel in my pack has been used by venturers of both sexes.

I've actually wondered if Daughter would have earned Eagle given the chance to do so. She never pursued any such awards. GS ended at brownies. And her and her friends didn't feel that medals were what they wanted out of venturing. She and the boys had very little patience for leadership classes. The thing she really wanted was to go to summer camp with us. Her senior project was a weekend class on outdoor preparedness for the GS in the area. I think if she were given a tan shirt, she would have maybe earned First Class, held a PoR because it suited the work that she saw needing to get done, hiked the snot out of the countryside, and aged out happy. (She'd be a lot better with knots as well.) Her grandmother told me that this fall while helping get groceries, she stopped at a popcorn table, left a donation, and asked the boys about their ranks and the trips they were planning. Not sure where that puts her in the pantheon of scouting alumni, but it suits her. As far as what Eagle Scout represents, I know a desert storm vet who remembered being impressed at the skills they had coming into boot camp. I think Eagles are still living up to their brand in that department.

I realized that I didn't answer your question in specific regarding folks from the Arab world. There are two words for Lord. They both imply master or all powerful, but differ in intimacy. One, famously recited in the Koran, "Lord of the Worlds." Another can also be translated as sire, or even landlord. That is more intimate, and more often used among Christians, specifically in reference to "my lord, Jesus". Now, a muslim may use the exact same words, but when he or she does, everyone knows they exclude the prophets (Jesus, included). And, thanks to modern media, everyone knows that those words from a Christian necessarily include Jesus. Even though I failed to teach my kids Arabic, I have tried to teach them contextualization. That is, it's entirely possible that, with the same words, someone is thinking of something different than you. And, with different words, they might be thinking the same thing you are thinking. And in both cases they may be wishing the best for you. Our language is a glass house, let the light in and use the stones to frame a welcoming hearth.

@Treflienne that would be a very welcome grace at any BSA camp that I know of. Well, assuming that you are indeed standing beneath tall, green trees.

Excellent topic, and ideal for Cub Scouts or Open Program! A rather fresh off the plane Saudi was trying to be polite in our company and used the phrase "God Jesus" in our company. (I think he intended to say "Lord Jesus" but had not learned how to translate either upper or lower case terms, yet. Regardless, even the lowercase "lord", which is a different word in Arabic, is not used among muslims.) I made it clear that he didn't have to do that for our sake, and that Allah most certainly would rather us use terms of endearment that we are convinced are true, until such time He convinces us of the truth of other titles. Pray how you were taught. If The Spirit is convicting you that you should do something differently, talk to your clergyman and consult your scripture. You are calling upon a Higher Power. Using anything less than the terms you were taught to call upon is denying us the blessing you were taught to give.

This will depend on three things. 1) GS/USA continues to treat what I am now calling field science (a.k.a. the outdoor method) as a completely optional method in their definition of scouting, 2) This year's class of Eagles have daughters or their friends' daughters who find great appeal in the thought of hiking and camp independently with their mates, and 3) The girls who come up through the ranks are "all that" and make a solid impression in their community. Years before I was a crew advisor, I was impressed by a venturer camp staff who walked Son #1 (then a Wolf) through the camp's nature trail. I asked her how she liked Exploring, and she politely corrected me, then went through the opportunities she had. At the time, the program sold itself.

Tell him the date and time of the next meeting. Assure that the items of concern have been forwarded to the appropriate parties and will be on the next docket under old or new business as appropriate. Enjoy the holidays.

I haven't read anywhere where BSA wants to get to any particular male/female balance. They want to meet a demand. They hope that, in doing so, they will attract more boys. I don't think the name has much to do with it. If we are inclusive, we'll get all the girls we can manage. If we dig our heels in, only a few will join our ranks. Of course, I drank the espresso offered by an Italian scout with "Boy Scouts Italia" [sic] sewn on the sleeve of her uniform.

Growing up, our troop would loan its gear to Girl Scouts and Youth Groups. Same for our current troop. Even for most of us scouters, our personal collection of gear is stacked and the garage/barn is unlocked. There is water for the horse, and the trough is deep.

I belong to this thing called Venturing, BSA which actually provides volunteers (including boy scouts) to help local GS/USA troops do more activities, period. There is water for the horse, and the trough is deep.

Just checked my drawer. Not only is the "1" that I have not shimmery, it's a little dingy. Just my opinion: There's something special about insignia with a little age and mismatch. It's like inheriting a bit of the careers of different scouts and scouters. If you can't find used matching #s, help your scout save up for a new set with her own money next year.

Our SMs (and the one Crew advisor ) rotate into ASMs. They are awesome to have around. There is no "new regime". We all know how it feels to be "the guy" and we pitch in accordingly.

If he served as den chief for four months while First Class, earned Star, and served as den chief for six months while a Star scout, it can be used as his PoR for Life rank. In general, at this level, we want boys serving in some PoR continuously (only taking a break if sports or other activities are too demanding) so that they can be building skills while contributing to the life of the troop.

The boys totaled three cars last year. Some friends asked me how mad I was, and I told them there's nothing sweeter than the sound of your child's voice instead of someone else giving you the news. I've walked through the valley with friends who had to endure the alternative. Make good use of your Christmas miracle. And if your son is ever discouraged about the hassled with insurance, car dealerships, etc .,,. remind him that those are small trade-offs for happiness.

Well, it's a good thing we have "Scouting History" for tangents like these!

@gblotter and @DuctTape are revealing two confusing extremes. One insists that duty to God is something apart from all the good things one does, the other insists that doing good things is in essence duty to God. Truth is likely somewhere in between. From what I gather, Baden Powell insisted that kids weren't theologians. Therefore, they need to experience a more practical religion of service, ideals, and the outdoors in order to intuit God. Then as they mature, they can bring the faith of their parents (and friends) to address the questions that naturally arise during the application of practical religion.

I'm pretty sure Dad was on most of my BoRs, including Eagle. He never said anything, though. I was proud of him.

It's new to me, but I like its old-school feel. I now get why I was sent around to other patrols asking for a left-handed smoke-shifter. I saw a lot of different camp set-ups that day! I could have really used that line with an SM who insisted on setting up the troop dining fly and chow table on the opposite end of the dam (trailers could go no further) when the SPL figured they'd just cook their pancakes and sausage in camp.

As one who let's his tongue slip more than I should ... Yes! Please remind guys like me that it's wrong in meetings to take advantage of language others don't want to hear or use. Iron sharpens iron.

Let's not whitewash things. You probably won't hear it from BSA units. But ... I have met plenty of GS/USA members who effectively said their organization's use of the word is mere window dressing. They were shocked when I made it clear that such rhetoric was not tolerated in my crew (or in our VOA). My reply was very simple: "When you want to stop complaining and do something about it, I'm here for you."